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Having managed to secure Ollie Watkins in a big-money deal from Brentford, it would have been no real surprise for Aston Villa fans to be completely fixated on their latest striking sensation.

And whilst the 24-year-old has delivered – he’s already bagged five goals in seven games this season – there’s one summer signing who has maybe gone slightly under the radar but who deserves just as much credit; Matty Cash.

Right-back was a position in which Dean Smith tried out different options last season, with the likes of Frederic Guilbert and Ezri Konsa given stints to see if they could hold down a regular starting spot.

Guilbert has now been frozen out, whilst Konsa has moved into the middle and it was clear that Villa desperately needed a new man for the job. Since arriving from Nottingham Forest in a reported £16m deal earlier in the summer, Cash has set about to establish himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet for Smith.

The 23-year-old has started every single Premier League game this season, and has been an important part of a back-line that has kept three clean sheets out of four in the top-flight.

Against Leicester on Sunday night, Cash showed why he’s already an undroppable member of the squad, and why he is an early contender for being Johan Lange’s best summer signing.

As per Sofascore, his 7.9 match rating was the joint-highest of any player on the pitch along with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and when you look at some of the underlying numbers behind his performance, it’s easy to see why he got such a high rating.

He made a game-high six interceptions, and a team-high of four tackles, whilst he also won eight of the 12 total duels that he contested. But apart from being a defensive stand-out, Cash also offered a threat going the other way too.

His total of 68 touches were the highest of any Villa player, and it really goes to show how Smith’s team are already leaning on him as an important part of the build-up play. He also sent in two crosses, and completed two out of his three attempted long balls.

When you think of the fact that he cost just £16m, and there are other Premier League clubs spending huge sums of money on young English full-backs (Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ben Chilwell, anyone?), he really is one of the shrewdest signings of the summer. In fact, in terms of value for money, Cash is arguably as good as, if not, better than Watkins in that respect thus far.

If he continues on his current trajectory, then the sky really is the limit for the 23-year-old.

And in other news, this Villa star outshone Ross Barkley in the win over Leicester.

Key Information about Principality Stadium

The Millennium Stadium, currently known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the stadium of Wales national football and rugby union team. It was initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup before the start of the new millennium, and it has gone on to host many other mega sporting events such as multiple FA Cup finals, as well as the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain.

The Principality Stadium has an all-seater capacity of 73,931 for football and rugby, with an increased capacity of 78,000 for boxing events.

A history of Principality Stadium

Cardiff Rugby Football Club and Wales both played their home matches at Cardiff Arms park until 1969. By 1999, the Principality Stadium had replaced a new National Stadium built at Cardiff Arms Park, with Cardiff RFC continuing to play at their old ground. The Principality Stadium was designed by Rod Sheard at Lobb Sport Architecture who had later merged with Hok Sport to become Populous who have later gone on to design both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur’s stadiums.

The building contractor was Laing, and the new stadium was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, for which Wales was the main host with 41 matches, including the final being played at the stadium. The total construction cost was £121m and this was funded by private investment, and £46m of which were public funds from the Millennium Commission. The stadium was named in recognition of the Millennium Commission’s contribution to the building.

The first major event played at the Principality Stadium was on 26 June 1999, when Wales took on South Africa in a rugby union test match in front of 29,000 spectators. In September 2015, it was announced that the Millennium Stadium would be renamed Principality Stadium as a result of a 10-year naming rights deal with the Principality Building Society, beginning in January 2016.

The all-seater stadium features a retractable roof, only the second stadium of its type in Europe, and the largest football stadium in the world with this feature. The current stadium record attendance was set at just over 78,000 during a boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Carlos Takam in October 2017. In May 2015, the WRU chairman Gareth Davies, announced that the Principality Stadium would be fitted with new seats, replacing the original seats. From 2000-09, the stadium was the permanent home of Welsh football with the national team playing the vast majority of their home matches at Principality Stadium. Despite this, over the past decade, the majority of Wales’ home games have been played at Cardiff City Stadium.

While the new Wembley Stadium was being built from 2001, the Principality Stadium hosted six FA Cup finals, as well as League Cup finals, Football League Trophy finals, Football League play-off finals, the FA Community Shield and Challenge cup final.

Tickets to Watch Wales at Principality Stadium

There are currently no scheduled Wales international football matches due to take place at the Principality Stadium due to the current global pandemic.

Related Links

https://www.principalitystadium.wales/events-and-ticket-information/ – Principality Stadium Ticket Office

According to French journalist Manu Lonjon, Leeds United have made an offer for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey.

What’s the word?

The Jamaica international enjoyed an impressive campaign with the Bundesliga side last season, scoring seven times in 33 games and providing a further three assists.

Despite not being a regular start for Leverkusen, Bailey came up with moments of brilliance, including a match-winning brace against Bayern Munich away at the Allianz Arena back in November.

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Now, Lonjon claims that newly-promoted Leeds have set their sights on the 23-year-0ld and have already made an offer for him.

Far better than Jack Harrison

Whilst Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt be keen to reward those who secured Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League in the first place, when a player of Bailey’s quality becomes available, it’s a move you simply have to make.

Jack Harrison was the Whites’ first-choice winger out on the left-hand side, scoring six times and setting up eight others in the whole of the Championship. But whilst he was impressive for the Elland Road side, Bailey has been performing at a far higher level in the Bundesliga and European competitions.

In the German top-flight, the Jamaican averaged 1.3 shots, one key pass and 1.6 dribbles per game, and his talents are there for all to see. After helping to bring him to the club Leverkusen’s managing director, Rudi Voller, said: “He’s got extraordinary pace, he’s very skilful with the ball, and he will give further impetus to our attacking department.”

Despite predominantly being left-footed, Bailey can play on either flank like he did last season, and can take on defenders on both the inside and outside. As players like Kevin De Bruyne have shown in the Premier League, being able to use both feet equally well can be a huge difference-maker, and the Leverkusen star has that in his locker.

If Bielsa is looking for a winger to add a piece of magic to his team, then he should look no further than Bailey.

A lot of the West Ham fan base are not happy at David Moyes for his latest comments following the side’s 2-0 loss to Wolves on the weekend.

The Hammers now sit 17th and level on points with AFC Bournemouth in 18th, with Aston Villa in 19th only one point behind them, per BBC Sport.

Moyes’ side have to play Villa on the last day of the season, and Moyes spoke about how crucial this game might be in deciding the final relegation outcome.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I’ve always felt it was going to be tight, I always thought it might possibly go to the last game. But we’ve been here before, many of us have done it before.”

Fans of the East London side expected a better campaign from the club, given they spent some serious money to bring in the likes of Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals last summer (Transfermarkt).

But it has not gone as planned and these latest comments by the manager have understandably not gone down well with the fan base as it seems like he is just accepting that the his side are likely to still be fighting for their lives come the final day.

Here is what they said following the comments, with one or two labelling Moyes a “clown”:

Hammers fans, can you believe Moyes has said this? Comment below!

In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.

Diogo Jota was one of a string of new signings that followed Nuno Espirito Santo to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017 as their new Chinese owners Fosun showed their ambition to gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.Previously playing for Porto in the 2016/17 season on loan from Atletico Madrid, the 23-year old had scored nine goals and made seven assists in 38 games in all competitions and even featured in the UEFA Champions League, according to Transfermarkt.To make the step down from Europe’s elite competition to the Championship may have astounded many of the West Midlands faithful, but Jota bought into the project and wanted to work with Nuno again, so he followed him to England.He did not disappoint in his debut campaign in England, scoring 18 goals and providing six assists in 46 matches in all competitions, as per champions of the second tier and therefore gain promotion to the top flight.Having initially joined on a loan deal from the Spanish capital, Jota was signed on a permanent transfer in 2018 for £12.6m (via Transfermarkt). His market value had already risen to £16.2m by this time, so already the deal looked a great piece of business by Nuno.In his debut term at Premier League level, Jota netted a further seventh-placed finish in the division having just been promoted, therefore qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.His market value had climbed to a peak £31.5m by the end of the 2018/19 season, meaning that the £12.6m that Nuno spent on him following his initial loan seemed a stroke of genius.In this current campaign, the Portuguese international has arguably been even better, having managed to score 15 times and produce six assists in 42 games in all competitions so far, according to Transfermarkt.The market value of the winger has since dropped to £25.2m due to the financial adjustments as a result of the global pandemic outbreak. However, that figure is still double what Wolves originally paid for him, therefore highlighting the great piece of business Nuno did first to get Jota into the club on loan and then to secure him permanently on what now looks to be a bargain.Wolves fans, were you surprised when Jota first joined? Comment below with your views!

Loads of Newcastle fans have been discussing former star Ayoze Perez, after @NUFC360 shared a post from The Leicester Mercury rating his first season since leaving St. James’ Park.

Perez swapped the Magpies for the Foxes last summer for a fee in the region of £30m, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t quite lived up to his price tag after leaving the Toon Army.

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The Spaniard has scored seven Premier League goals, but three of those came in the 9-0 mauling of Southampton, where Jamie Vardy also grabbed a hat-trick.

On Tyneside, Perez scored 48 goals and provided 17 assists in 195 showings, and it appears fans are still divided on exactly how good the 26 year-old actually is.

The piece from The Leicester Mercury included ratings from Foxes supporters , one of whom said the Spaniard is “incredibly lazy”, a comment which has split the Toon Army.

Check out some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Newcastle fans are still fuming about something that happened in 2017…

Jermain Defoe has admitted that Juande Ramos was one of the main reasons why he decided to leave Tottenham for Portsmouth in 2008.

The striker, who had scored 64 goals in 177 appearances for Spurs at that time, had established himself as a White Hart Lane favourite, but opted to reunite with Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth after the pair had originally worked together at West Ham.

The move surprised many, not least Defoe, who explained the events leading up to his first White Hart Lane departure in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

He said: “It was a hard decision for me to make. I loved it at Spurs. But we had a change of manager, Juande Ramos came in and he had different ideas.

“One day in training he said something to me, I said something back, and then he told me that if I wasn’t happy I could leave. Even the players couldn’t believe he’d said it to me.

“So I phoned my agent and told him what the manager said. Ramos spoke to Daniel Levy about it and the chairman was like: ‘Are you joking? That is not happening!’

“The next game I was given the armband to be captain! It was strange.”

Ramos arrived at White Hart Lane in 2007, replacing Martin Jol, leading Spurs out of the relegation zone and into midtable before being sacked at the beginning of the following season.

And Defoe explained that while he didn’t want to leave Tottenham, he felt like he needed to while Ramos was still at the club.

“It was so hard to leave Tottenham. I just felt like I had no choice. I just couldn’t play for Juande Ramos.”

You can read the full interview with Jermain Defoe, in conjunction with On The Ball Global, here.

Conor Coventry has had his issues with West Ham United in recent times, due to a dispute with the club over his contract, as reported by Football Insider.

It can be argued that this situation would see a risk of fans turning against him, expecting the youngster to get his head down and focus on football rather than money.

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case here, especially after he played the full 90 minutes of Republic of Ireland U21s’ 4-1 victory over Sweden:

TheWestHamWay expressed their desire for Coventry to be offered another contract, and they were not alone in this opinion, with plenty of other Hammers fans swooning over the 19-year-old and his talents.

Having played a half in the 8-0 Carabao Cup win against Macclesfield Town last season, he has managed just eight minutes against Newport County this term, but there are those who feel he should be more heavily involved – some feel he should be above Carlos Sanchez in the pecking order.

A selection of Twitter reaction to the performance, including posts from impressed West Ham fans, can be seen below:

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez has issued an interesting transfer message during a recent interview with Marca, which gives light on his current situation at the west Midlands outfit.

What’s he said?

With the world of football under lockdown, many players appear to be doing what they can to keep their fitness levels ticking over just like Molineux teammate Joao Moutinho, who was seen lugging a wheelbarrow full of wood on Instagram earlier this week.

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But the Wolves talisman took some time out to give Mexico’s version of Marca a few words, where he revealed some insight into his future.

He said:

“I see a lot of people talking and saying that ‘he’s for a Top 6 team’. Right now we are in fifth place and we are not behind anything of those teams. I mean, apart from Liverpool who are way above this season, I think we are fighting as equals with everyone else: We beat City twice, we beat Tottenham once, we tied with United. They bought me for €40m, they won’t sell me for less. There is no release clause, but the clubs here, it is different how they are managed.”

Transfer message

There have been plenty of reports in previous transfer windows linking the Mexican hotshot to some big-name club, including Premier League rivals Manchester United, Arsenal and even La Liga giants Real Madrid, as per the Mirror.

While Football.London have suggested that Spurs should move for the 28-year-old striker as he’s someone that could be the difference for Jose Mourinho’s side next term.

However, when taking a look at the standings, Wolves sit sixth place, just five points behind fourth and well ahead of the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal.

Jimenez will continue to attract the plaudits, as well as the speculation, should his rich vein of form continue when the season resumes. He has scored 22 goals and also laid on ten assists from 42 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

With everything still to play for, it would be hard to see the frontman leaving Molineux anytime soon.

AND in other news, Wolves fans FURIOUS at UEFA decision…

Not quite as routine as last Friday night was it?

Despite taking a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes against Burton Albion, Leicester City were made to huff and puff against the Brewers, only sealing victory in the last minute when a goal from James Maddison wrapped up proceedings.

However it was the man who set up Maddison for his ‘icing on the cake’ goal that seemed to be getting quite a lot of stick from the Foxes faithful, and that was Demarai Gray.

The statistics from last night would certainly back up the fans on this one, as he had a worse pass completion percentage than all bar one of the Leicester centre-backs.

As well as that, he only managed two successful dribbles compared to Marc Albrighton on the opposing flank who managed to achieve eight (all via WhoScored).

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And they were not scared in voicing their opinions about the 23-year-old, with some rather harsh comments indeed.

Check out the best fan reaction from Southampton 0-9 Leicester in the video below…

In fairness, he has only started one league game this season, so that should be a decent indicator that he isn’t good enough to be in the first team, that’s why he was playing against Burton last night.